Often known as Aloe barbadensis, the first aid plant or medicinal aloe, for years it has been grown for it's healing properties, now often being used in cosmetics and alternative medicine. An evergreen succulent with fleshy leaves and thick serrated edges grows from a stemless rosette. This low maintenance houseplant can, if you are lucky produce a greenish/yellow tubular flower in early summer, but really it is the simple striking leaves that it is grown for in the home.

Home care: Water moderately when growing, and sparingly when dormant through the winter months. Feed with a balanced liquid fertiliser 2-3 times during the growing season.